One fine day you’ll find me slapping the “bid” button on eBay, on my way to buying a Norton Commando. I’ve always been partial to the 1968 Commando, the one with the nice big drum brake up the front, but I could easily talk myself into buying something just like this.
Urban parking isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, though I’m not quite sure if this particular idea is the answer, it certainly is interesting.
In 1913 a pair of young boys bought an Indian motorcycle and set out on a road trip from Oklahoma to New York City, they were aged just 13 and 9 so exactly how they could afford the motorcycle is unclear but I think we can all agree that they had very laid back parents.
The Dynasphere was a unique attempt at rethinking the still relatively new concept of personal, motorised transport. And it was insane.
Classic Farm Motorcycles is a brilliant little Italian garage with a habit of turning out some of the best classic British iron you’ll find anywhere. The man behind the wrenches is a chap called Fabrizio Di Bella, though is nickname is the rather English sounding “McDeeb”, he builds everything from cafe racers, to off roaders and everything in between.
The classic World War II Jeep is a car that I’ve always wanted, perhaps not as a daily driver but certainly as a weekend warrior. Having an original WWII vintage, non-modified version with the military paint-markings still in place like the jeep here would be a major bonus and the temptation to smoke a cigar and shout at people whilst driving around in it would be almost too much to resist.
I love finding little boutique clothing manufactures that still produce garments the same way they did when Blower Bentleys roared around Brooklands. GRP is a little Italian knitwear maker based in Carmignano, this is their Vintage Flight Vest and I like it a great deal.
I am a huge, huge fan of the DeTomaso Pantera. The look and performance of the cars have always been slightly ridiclulous but I don’t care in the slightest, I still think they’re some of the most testosterone fuelled monsters to ever turn a wheel.
Sounding for all the world like something the 3 hosts of Top Gear might dream up for an episode in Lapland this photograph from 1908 shows an iceboat racing a motorcycle across a frozen lake in Canada.
It’s a wonder to me that some enterprising automaker hasn’t created an affordable, amphibious roadster for public consumption. Sure we have a few boutique car companies that sell interesting but hugely expensive amphibians but there’s nothing out the for the common Joe.
The Grounding of the Princess May is one of the most famous shipwreck photographs in the world, after she ran aground in 1910 the photographs spread around the globe with startling speed and the stories of heroism on board began to emerge from the survivors.
North by Northwest is one of my favourite films of all time. It has it all, Cary Grant, a pretty woman, baddies, trains, planes, cars and intrigue.
